Xjyuk

Both sound like /-dənt/ to me.

Etymology:

confidant comes to English from the French word confident, and when the word first entered our language it was often spelled that way, rather than as confidant.

So they were actually the same word. Do we really need to tell a difference between them?

I pronounce the two words differently. I happen to be a native speaker of American English whose father studied French extensively and whose mother taught French -- but I do not know French myself.

I pronounce "confident" as "CONfidint", much like jimbobmcgee's transcription.

I pronounce the last syllable of "confidant" the way I pronounce the first syllable of "Ontario", or the way some people pronounce "aunt". In other words, it rhymes with "want".

I would say that, while they do sound similar enough in casual usage, they are definitely not the same word.

"Confident" is an adjective that describes someone having the feeling of confidence (i.e. a self-belief); while "a confidant" is a noun that describes a person to whom you might tell a secret (i.e. it is based on the verb to confide).

When spoken aloud, unless emphasised, both will sound like the contracted confidn't (sorry, I haven't studied the pronunciation symbols). Many people—especially those who are aware or observant of its French roots—may increase the emphasis on the -ant part of confidant (and soften the -t), in recognition of those roots.

Now I have looked up an explicit definition of homophone, I would say that the two words do qualify as homophones, in that they are both words that pronounced the same but differ in meaning, derivation or spelling)

The vowel in the "confidant" is more heavily pronounced
/ˈkɒnfɪdant,ˌkɒnfɪˈdant,ˌkɒnfɪˈdɑːnt/

There are various pronunciations that are possible, the second syllable is often stressed, but even if not it is a clear vowel /a/

In confident the last vowel is reduced to a schwa, and never stressed. In fact it is so reduced that it is hardly pronounced at all.

/ˈkɒnfɪd(ə)nt/

But the words are distinguished by syntax. "Confidant" is a noun (and rather rare) but "confident" is a common adjective.